Be devoted to one another in love...

It is great to be beside my wife again. I arrived on Friday night and we have been resting and spending some time with each other. With Doctor's advise, last Thursday Mary stopped taking her diabetic medicine and she is doing a lot better. It seems that the metformin was causing the nausea. We praise the Lord for this as it seems she no longer needs the metformin. Thank so much for your prayers for her.

On Monday the 14th, Kathy and Beaver Brooks arrived in Gonaives to work in our stead for some time while we are here sharing the needs of Jubilee with churches and individuals and invite them to get involved. We are thankful for them and their sacrifice for the people of Jubilee and the Kingdom of God. While they are there, they will be focusing on community development and job skills training. They will be utilizing teams who are coming during this time, to accomplish these goals.

Dr. Karen McCarthy returned to Gonaives last week with a medical team from Jacksonville, which give life and hope to many in desperate situations. They were able to do a clinic at Pastor Genada's church on Tuesday and in Jubilee on Wednesday and had several clinics in PAP. Please pray for this team as they minister to the medical needs of Haiti in the Name of Jesus. We are thankful for them and for the sacrifices which they make for the Kingdom of God.

We serve an amazing God who continues to change and transform Jubilee. The school continues to go well and the teachers are wonderful as they teach and encourage the children in life giving ways. Encouraging them to do things which will give honor and respect to each other and to God. Brian has went home for a few weeks to be with his wife and will return on the 8th of March to continue the housing project. We thank God for those who have given and sacrificed for those who need a home. May God be glorified through it all. He is worthy!
I have been meditating on what it means to prefer one another in our relationships and in ministry. Romans 12:10 says " Be kindly devoted to one another, with brotherly love, in honor preferring one another". This is easy for us to do with people we love and are close to, but as Christians we are called to do this to people who are not so easy to love to those who sometimes hurt us or do not love and honor us in return. We do not have the opportunity to exercise this kind of love when everything is going smooth, it is when things are in tension that we have this opportunity. I think what is being said, is to make the other person more important than yourself or make yourself less important than the other person. As I have been mediating on this and trying to make the application in my own life God has been showing me how I need to expand this to ministries and how we relate to one another as we do Kingdom work. When Nehemiah was building the wall, it was a community effort which involved each family working on the wall where they lived. The idea was to get the wall up for protection from their enemies. If there is a breach in the wall they could be attacked. So they were not in competition with each other to see who get it done first, whose wall would look the best, or who could gather the most resources, they were working together to protect the community of God's people from the enemy. If all the families finished their work, and one was lacking, it would be as though they had not accomplished anything, because their would continue to be a breach in the wall. I believe as they worked some had more mortar, some had more, rocks, some had more bricks, some had more water, because they had a well. They shared their resources, where they could finish the task and be protected, where there would not be a breach in the wall. As I meditate on preferring one another in ministry, God continues to show us ways which we can prefer another and share our resources where there will not be a breach in the wall for the enemy to come against us. If one of us fail, we all fail. Today I want to share with you a couple of ministries which God has allowed me to witness as they work on the wall of the Kingdom of God. They have put their hand to the work and I would like for you to have an opportunity to know them and pray about how God would have you to help them and get involved in their ministry. Attached is their info and it will be posted on our blog under the heading "other opportunities to serve." I will be sharing others with you in the future and also place them on the blog.

Sherrie Fausey is one which many of you know already. She lives in Port-au-Prince Haiti and I have had to opportunity to work with her for several years. The other is Mike Leland. He has an orphanage, school and works with many local pastors and people in need. His primary work is north of Gonaives. You can see his work at the sites below. Please pray for them and their work on the wall of the Kingdom of God as we build together.
www.newgenerationhaiti.org Blog is http://newgenerationhaiti.blogspot.com/

With Love in Christ,

Prayer Request

Mary; we rejoice in her victories

School and those who serve there.

Housing project and community

Our personal spiritual growth

Beaver and Kathy as they serve in Jubilee

Community development and job skills training.

Reflecting the Love of God...

Mary is with her sister Cynthia in Waycross. She went to see the internal disease Doctor last Thursday and the test did not reveal any problems. She continues to have nausea after she eats, as she did before she was sick, though with medication she is able to hold food down. She went to her Doctor on Monday and will be seeing a specialist to see what is causing her nausea. I sure miss her being here beside me. She conveys her appreciation for your prayers and intercession on her behalf. Please continue to pray for her.

The work here is going well, Julie, Laura Lynn, and Terry returned to Gonaives on the 8th of January and school has been back in session for two weeks now. It is a blessing to see the children maturing and learning. They love to share with us the English words which they are learning. Laura Lynn has been working towards getting Haitian teachers to help complete this year and for next year as we expand. This week we have a team from Julie's home church in Va. They are having a VBS for the children. Julie is enjoying spending some time with her dad. Please continue to pray for these servants as they represent Him in their task each day.

Brian returned on the 27th of December and is continuing on the housing project. We now have 14 Foundations complete, walls on three houses complete and working on placing rafters on the first house. It is exciting to see a community being built. It is also great to see some of these guys which do not have a lot of work, have jobs to supply their families. We are thankful for Cross International allowing us to participate with them in this project as we work together for the Kingdom of God. It was great to have Jim, Phil and Jeff from Nebraska, here for few days helping out with this project.Brian is here to build houses, his main objective is to disciple and be discipled. As followers of Christ how would each of our jobs be different if this was our primary Goal. Please continue to pray for this community.

Darrin Mitchell from Toccoa Ga has been here since the 26th of December working with local pastors and helping with many different mission projects. It is great to see the the pastors coming together in unity, working together for the Kingdom of God. It was great to have Jim Hambrick here with friend Rick Via for a few days. They taught local pastors and were able to visit some families and pastors in Jubilee and also pass some time with Pastor Genada. Please pray for the local pastors here as they are really on the front-lines here.

We are continuing to meditate on relationships and this morning we had a great devotion with the team from Va. We talked about love and the scriptures were used about the many things which we can have, but if we do not have love for our fellowman, what we have is nothing and we are nothing more than a clanging symbol. It reminded me of the devotion we had a few weeks ago where we agreed that our relationships to one another was more important than the work which we do. If those relationships do not reflect the love of God, then why are we here, we would be just as well to go home. I have meditated on this over the past few weeks and how it would apply to our local bodies of believers in our churches and other Christian organizations. Would it not be the same? Our relationships and love towards one another and preferring one another is more important than the work which our mission produces. The work would only be a conduit to testify of how God's love allows us to work together in relationship. When we say we are doing it in the "name of God" or in the "name of Christ" and Their love in not manifested in what we do through relationship, then why are we doing it. That would be an indicator that our relationship with God is false. God our Father, please help us to walk and represent you in our relations with one another, in a way which truly represent you as we walk in His steps amen.

With Love in Christ,

Prayer request

Mary

School and those who serve there.

Housing project and community

Our personal spiritual growth

New Update on Mary...

Hello

Mary continues to have some complications, so she will be leaving this afternoon to return to Georgia. She has felt better and strengthened the last few days but continues to experience diarrhea and vomiting. She will see her Doctor and hopefully, prayerfully, get things back on track. Please continue to pray for her. Thanks

With love in Christ

Emory

Update on Mary...

hello

Mary is now doing much better. The Doctor allowed her to come home where she could sleep last night. The diarrhea continues but is in controllable state at this time. Doctors without borders is the organization running this cholera treatment clinic and they have several french doctors and nurses there who have taken good care of her. We just returned from a checkup with them this morning and everything seems to be progressing well. We give God all honor, praise, and glory for recovery thus far and believing He will give her full recovery. We have been overwhelmed with the responses from you who have been and are continuing to pray for her. We know that God is honoring your prayers as you interceded on her behalf. Saying thanks seems so trivial for all you have done to pray and encourage us, but know we love you and thank you for it.

With love in Christ

Emory

Prayers for Mary...

Hello

Hope each of you are enjoying the new year. We need your prayers during this time. Mary has cholera. She is being treated in a cholera treatment center here. They gave her 8 units of fluids today and she is taking plenty of oral hydration which seems to be giving her some strength but she continues to have diarrhea. Please pray for this to stop and healing. We love you and thank you for your prayers.

With love in Christ

Emory and Mary

Merry Christmas!!

Hello

Mary and I would like to wish each of you a very merry Christmas as you reflect our Savior's birth. We are spending a day at home with our family here. It is not easy being away from Lori, Justin, family and friends back home during this time, but we are thankful for friends God has given us here. I have been relaxing and meditating a lot today and now I am cooking a turkey and chicken on the grill while Mary, Gertrude, DG, and Rose are in the Kitchen preparing Pies, dressing, red potato salad and other things for our guest tonight. Mary has invited several friends from around the city to have a Christmas diner with us. Mostly foreigners serving here as missionaries or other capacities. The Genadas, Jan Thompson and her family, Drew from Iom, and the Bakers. We will have some food fellowship and song as reflect on what today means to us.

Things are going great in the ministry. Laura Lynn, Julie, Rachel and Terry have gone home for Christmas. They along with Mary have shared with the school children, the true meaning of Christmas through classroom instruction, song, and programs for the children. We are thankful for all God is doing through the body here and thank each of you who are faithful to pray and support.

This morning while I was reflecting on Jesus and His birth, I read Oswald Chambers devotion in My utmost for His highest. He challenged us to allow our bodies to be a Bethlehem for Christ to be formed in us. He asked "have we allowed our personal human life to become a Bethlehem for the Son of God"? He says "the evidence of the new birth is that I yield myself so completely to God that Christ is formed in me. And when His nature is formed in me, It begins to work through me". It has challenged me again to allow God to use my Body for His honor and Glory and it also reminded me again I am here serving because I am connected to Him and He wants to continue to form in me Himself. Lord Help me each day moment by moment to submit my life to You for you to continue to change this clay into your image. Amen!

May God bless you today as you reflect on His birth and what it means to you.

With love in Christ

Emory and Mary

Unrest in Haiti...

Unrest continues in Haiti after release of names of presidential hopefuls. There has been much violence in the capital city of Port-au-Prince with protesters burning tires, buildings and blocking main roads. These are good people who just want their voices to be heard. It is sad that their voice can not be heard through an honest vote, so they resort to violence. Last Tuesday we were returning from PAP and there was a couple of road blocks outside of Lester. Brian Smith was returning this morning, so I awoke early and headed to PAP around 5:30 am. When I arrived in St Mark there were road blocks across the street about every 50 yards. We were able to pass about 5 of them before we reached a place where we could go no further. As we were waiting, they told us it was getting hot and we needed to back up. Sure enough it did get hot as the UN rounded the corner, there were several people hid between houses on the mountainside throwing rocks at the UN trucks. and the UN was firing back at them. They were coming towards the truck and then they motioned for me to pass them where they were receiving rocks and shooting back. I advanced about 50 yards to the next road block and waited. Soon the Haitian police force was advancing in front of the truck to remove road blocks. They stopped a few yards in front of the truck and started moving roadblocks as people behind the truck was throwing rocks at them. I could tell they did not want to shoot with us in front of them. While I was waiting there in the mist of this, Brian called and said his flight was canceled along with all others coming to Haiti due to the violence in PAP. This was a relief that I did not have to go through what lied ahead, yet just behind me there continued shooting and rock throwing from civilians. After about 45 minutes passed, I sensed a peace from God to turn around and head back to Gonaives. As we turned around and moved slowly through the road blocks all was peaceful as we passed out of the city. The violence in PAP is bad with the burning of government offices and other buildings. I talked with Nathan Blessing who is in Lakay this morning and there is much violence there also with the burning of buildings. Attached is Sherrie Fausey's report from PAP for those who do not get her info. Things are very quiet and peaceful here in Gonaives with schools in session. We praise God for that. We thank God for those of you who were praying for us this morning and each day and ask you to continue to pray for Haiti and it's needs of a Government with integrity.

Last night Mary fixed a wonderful meal of stir-fry and rice with beans for the team here. Afterward we shared in a devotion which was very good for the group. It was about relationships with others. During our discussion, there was some good points brought out that I would like to share with you.

1) Our relationships to each other and how we react and respond to one another is more important than the work we are here to do. I think this is so true because the Kingdom of God is about relationships and if we are not right in our relationship with others, then we are not right in our relationship with God. I think this would apply where you are working, if your first priority to demonstrate God's love, and secondly a place of God's provision for your family.

2) It was brought out that mans relationship with God, was before work, therefore more important than the work. Adam's work was a result of a good relationship gone bad.

3) The question was asked how we handle differences. We handle differences, by demonstrating God's love in spite of the differences. When we fail to do this, we are the ones who fail not the other person. In the day of judgment, I do not think we will be judged by if we were right or wrong, but if we did the greatest of these which is love in spite of the differences. As I have tried to demonstrate this in the past, there were times where I thought I was right and tried to be dogmatic about it and then God later showed me I was wrong. God ordains us into relationships and we must choose to love regardless of differences. When there is a difference of will and belief is when we are called to stand strong on the front lines where God's power and glory will shine through.

4) When our relationships to one another shows Christ unconditional love, it is a powerful testimony to those who we are witnessing to and it brings glory to God. When we respond in the ways which Satan would, which is disobedience, then hell and it's furry is glorified. As Christians, as followers Jesus the one we love, we are called to a higher standard when there are differences. Sin is the result of disobedience which means we fulfill the lust of our flesh as opposed to the spirit of God working through us and we respond as Jesus would in relationships. Please pray for us as we seek to do His probable action as God uses others to mold us and make us into the image of Christ.

With love in Christ

Emory and Mary

Prayer request

Cholera and those affected.

Construction projects.

Government and election process

Bus to help with transportation.



Sherrie Fausey's Update:

Please keep Haiti in prayer.

The election committee which was appointed by Preval who supports Celestin for president announced a run-off between Celestin & Manigat. They excluded Martelly who trailed Celestin in the count by only .007%. No one believes Celestin actually even got that many votes and the 3rd candidate (Martelly) is allowed to be included in the run-off if it is close but they excluded him. Now Martelly's followers are burning tires, vehicles, houses, whatever. There is a lot of shooting between demonstrators versus police.

Everything is closed including the airport. My visitors were scheduld to fly out this morning but cannot leave.

We are OK here at the school. The air is full of smoke but it is not likely that any demonstrations will come close to us because we are on a small side road. We plan to stay home.

Please pray for the Haitian people. They have suffered so much already. The corrupt government is the reason help has not reached the people. Now a corrupt election is making it much worse. The common people are worse off no matter what happens. We need a miracle. Our Papa still can do miracles.

God bless you,

Sherrie